Schlafly Beer announced details for their largest food and drink festival of the year: the Schlafly Stout & Oyster Festival. Taking place on March 10 and March 11 at the Schlafly Tap Room (2100 Locust St.) in downtown St. Louis, the local brewer brings in 70,000 oysters and 25 shuckers from both coasts, brews 15 stouts for the festival, offers live music and more for two days of slurps and sips at the free festival. This year, Schlafly Beer will also offer an all-inclusive “Pearl Pass” for the true oyster enthusiasts, and guests can stay for the weekend with The Cheshire’s Shuckers’ Inn hotel package.

Ambassador Brewer Stephen Hale explains, “This is our 18th year for the festival, and we look forward to seeing our shucker friends every year–talk about a bunch of characters! Last year, we added the outdoor ‘Shuckerdome,’ but this year, we’ll have more oysters, stouts and shuckers than ever before.”

Here are seven reasons to attend Schlafly’s Stout & Oyster Festival this year.

Skip the lines with the NEW “Pearl Pass.” While the festival is free, guests can upgrade their Stout & Oyster experience with the all-inclusive Pearl Pass. Get access to an indoor, private all-inclusive area of the festival, four hours (5 p.m. to 9 p.m.) of unlimited oysters and beer and private restrooms. Tickets can be purchased here for $150.

Get razzed by one of the shuckers. The 25 shuckers from both East and West Coasts are a rowdy bunch. They may cheers you from across the shucking line or heckle you for choosing East over West, but your oysters are sure to come with some entertainment.

Indulge in oysters any way you want them. Grilled, fried, Rockefeller or raw–Schlafly will fly in 70,000 oysters fresh the day before the festival in partnership with Southwest Cargo, making the festival one of the largest in the Midwest.

Try small brew, experimental stouts. In addition to Schlafly favorites like Oatmeal, Coffee, Irish Extra, Nitro Irish, Oyster Stout and more, guests can try experimental stouts from the brewery’s Pilotworks Small Brews system. These limited stouts go fast, but also forecast what could make the brewery’s wildly-popular Stout Bout sampler pack next year.

Shuck it, and stay the weekend at The Cheshire’s Shuckers’ Inn. This year, Schlafly Beer has partnered with Lodging Hospitality Management to offer the Shuckers’ Inn hotel package at The Cheshire (6300 Clayton Rd, St. Louis 63117). Guests will receive exclusive amenities like a mixed, six-pack of Schlafly’s stouts, two commemorative Stout & Oyster Festival glasses and voucher for two Schlafly t-shirts and two 1/2 dozen (6) oysters to be redeemed at the festival. You may even see a shucker in the halls of the hotel! The package starts at $159 so the room rate and package perks offer a savings over 36 percent. You can book the package here.

Soak in the sounds, sips and sights in the Shuckerdome. Last year’s festival brought the additional of the ‘Shuckerdome,’ a clear tent that takes over the streets of 21st and Locust. Soak in the sun (if the weather cooperates like last year), sounds of the bands and more.

Stick around for the Shucker Showdown at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday. Three shuckers from each coast battle it out in a test of brawn and booze. The relay race competition requires the shuckers to shuck a dozen oysters, the next slurps them down, while the third then chugs a pitcher of stout. The winner earns a trophy and bragging rights for the year. Watch as the East Coast defends their title.

Schlafly’s Stout & Oyster Festival will take place from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, March 10 and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, March 11 at the Schlafly Tap Room (2100 Locust St.). The Schlafly Tap Room brewpub will be open normal hours on both days and serve the regular menu in addition to the oyster specials during festival hours. The festival is free to attend, but guests then pay for any food and beverage purchases. Bars and oyster stations will be available outside in addition to the brewpub. Additional Schlafly styles beyond stouts will also be available on draft.

About Schlafly Beer: Founded in 1991 in St. Louis, Schlafly Beer is the largest locally owned and independent craft brewery in Missouri, proudly offering more than 60 unique styles of craft beer. The celebrated brewing company continues to define craft with a dedication to sourcing the best ingredients, supporting local sustainability and community efforts whenever possible, and delivering a superior beer experience from year-round to limited-edition styles. In 2016, the brewery used 102 hop varietals, 77 malts and grains, 59 different spices and fruits, and 10 different yeast strains to make its beers. Schlafly Beer’s production of 60,000 barrels of beer took place between its two brewery-restaurants, Schlafly Tap Room (2100 Locust St.) in downtown St. Louis, and Schlafly Bottleworks (7260 Southwest Ave.), located in Maplewood. The Schlafly Tap Room was the first new brewpub to open in St. Louis since Prohibition and is housed in a restored wood and brick building on the National Historic Register. Schlafly Bottleworks offers free weekend tours every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m. on the hour, and every half hour on Saturdays. Schlafly Tap Room offers free brewery tours every Sunday.